Global lawmakers’ meet on Tibet called off

Global lawmakers’ meet on Tibet called off

Context

Cancellation of the 7th World Parliamentarian’s Convention on Tibet (WPCT), which had been planned for April 26-28 in Delhi

Reasons for cancellation: Resetting ties with China

• The decision reflects “sensitivities” over upcoming high profile meetings between the Indian and Chinese leadership
• An “informal summit” between Prime Minister NarendraModi and Chinese President Xi Jinping even before they meet in Qingdao in June for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is being “worked on”

TPiE (Tibetan Parliament in Exile)

• Preparations for the event this year were in full swing, and parliamentarians from the self-styled “Tibetan Parliament in Exile (TPiE)” of the Central Tibetan Authority in India had met with several MPs in Delhi in December 2017 to extend invitations.
• Tibetan community leaders also announced the “postponement” of the WPCT in the ongoing session of the ‘TPiE’ in Dharamshala this week.

TPiE worried

Leaders of the Tibetan ‘parliament in exile’ (TPiE) are worried and called to discuss whether this was a phase in Sino-Indian ties, or a more permanent situation

Improving Sino-Indian ties?

• Dalai Lama’s decision to skip a visit to Manipur for the Indian Science Congress
• In the last few weeks, a visit by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to Beijing, and China’s decision not to oppose a move against Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris have indicated that the narrative is turning.